Much of eastern South Dakota saw its first taste of winter over the weekend. Snow totals ranged from a trace to nearly 5 inches around Sioux Falls, where Christian Begeman captured the clash of two seasons.
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Highway 18 Color
Leaves may look the same wherever you go in autumn — red, gold and yellow — but every country road has its own personality.
Travelers on Highway 18, which dips and ducks above South Dakota’s shared border with Nebraska, probably don’t choose the route for fall colors. But the highway’s rural charm of cowboy culture, small towns and Indian reservations makes it an always-interesting drive that takes on a special aura in late autumn.
The terrain and the flora are especially scenic as you come and go from the spacious Missouri River valley in Bon Homme, Charles Mix and Gregory counties. Going from east to west, the farms grow into ranches. Trees, towns and people all become fewer, though no less colorful.
The river itself is a good place to stop and stretch. A beautifully manicured pioneer cemetery with 158 graves lies just west of the Fort Randall Dam, near the old yellow chalkstone chapel. A marker by the front gate lists not only the usual names and dates of the deceased, but also the causes of their deaths: pneumonia, lightning, scurvy, horse accident, drowned and — in the case of Herman A. Greening in March of 1886 –“found dead on prairie.”
What a beautiful place to spend eternity, or better yet to just explore on an autumn afternoon.
Editor’s Note: This story is revised from the November/December 2024 issue of South Dakota Magazine. To order a copy or to subscribe, call (800) 456-5117.
Fall in Spearfish Canyon
Autumn has arrived in Spearfish Canyon. According to Kimberly Talcott’s Spearfish Canyon Reports, the fall colors are nearing their peak. Photographer John Mitchell spent a few days immersed in the beautiful valley south of Spearfish.
When Autumn Meets Winter
Fall and winter met yesterday with the first snowfall of the season in the Black Hills. John Mitchell took these photos of winter’s white blending with autumn’s gold in Spearfish Canyon.
Black Hills Blooms
Wildflowers are blooming throughout the Black Hills. Photographer Brittany Kahl spent a few days roaming the countryside and found these colorful and delicate plants.
A Photographer’s Playground
I’ve never outgrown my fascination for toys. A few years back a friend asked me to lead a workshop photographing toys. My first reaction was,”Who’s going to sign up for that?” He suggested I do a Google search and it opened a whole new creative doorway and reason for collecting toys. I discovered there are thousands of people around the world creating very fun photographs with toys.
Toys now accompany my camera on just about every trip. These images are some of my favorites from around South Dakota.
Chad Coppess is the photo editor for South Dakota Magazine
Big Game, Big Crowd
On Saturday, 19,431 fans — the largest crowd to ever witness a sporting event in North or South Dakota — packed Dana J. Dykhouse Stadium in Brookings to watch the South Dakota State University Jackrabbits defeat the North Dakota State University Bison 33-16. It was the 115th meeting between the two football teams, an annual contest that has come to be called the Dakota Marker game. The winning team goes home with a trophy that resembles the quartzite markers that surveyor Charles Bates used to mark the border between North and South Dakota in 1891, just two years after they became the 39th and 40th states. Photographer Christian Begeman traveled to Brookings to capture all of the afternoon’s festivities.
Bursts of Color
Fall color is at its peak in Spearfish Canyon and other locales around the Black Hills. John Mitchell has been exploring the mountains and valleys and shared these photos with us.
Lemmon: Our Cowboy Capital
If you designed a town as a tribute to the American cowboy it would look like Lemmon. The little city straddling the border of the two Dakotas has just 1,200 citizens but it seems 10 times that size on days when there’s a rodeo or a cattle auction. Even on a slow day, Lemmon looks like a cowboy capital — thought nobody there would claim the title because real cowboys don’t brag.
Huron’s Marvelous Murals
Artists have brightened and enlightened the streets of Huron with nearly two dozen murals that illustrate the history and heritage of a city that has developed into one of the American West’s most farm-oriented communities.
Huron is home to both the Farm Bureau and Farmers Union organizations. The South Dakota State Fair, held in Huron since 1905, has developed as one of the nation’s best agricultural fairs. The state’s federal USDA offices are headquartered there, and two of South Dakota’s major livestock auction barns.
That ag heritage has inspired much of the city’s street art. Murals depict pioneer settlers, the legacy of the fair, agrarian politics, the great ’82 Land Rush in the James River valley and pheasant hunting. However, other themes are also represented; a 2002 mural honors the USA’s healing from the 9/11 disaster.
Looking for a windshield art tour? The marvelous murals of Huron are worth the trip. Visit each one and take a selfie by your favorite. Grab a sandwich to go at Manolis Grocery (actually a funky and wonderful old-style bistro that dates to 1921). See the 40-foot fiberglass pheasant on the east side of town along Highway 14.
All things you can only do in Huron.
